Book review

Abstract

Writing Through the Visual and Virtual: Inscribing Language, Literature, and Culture in Francophone Africa and the Caribbean pulls back the curtain on the relationship that current literary and artistic forms in the African continent and the Caribbean Islands have maintained with traditional practices and modes of representation. With the imposition of new languages and systems of knowledge, colonization has created watershedmoments in African as well as Caribbean history. The various contributions in this book, edited by Renée Larrier and Ousseina D. Alidou, refreshingly highlight the multiple ways the people of these areas have succeeded in withstanding cultural, linguistic, and political domination, during and after colonization, through the valorization as well as the reinvention of indigenous modes of writing. The editors’ introduction is particularly helpful in capturing some relevant issues at stake regarding the evolution of traditional forms of writing and their current use. Larrier and Alidou in particular underscore how the introduction of new technologies has not only impacted conventional definitions of literature but also has changed the production and dissemination of African and Caribbean literary works. The volume encourages readers to deeply explore the imaginative power of these works by envisioning the relationship and dialogue between various virtual and visual scripts. It subtly demonstrates how literature coalesces with other artistic practices and aesthetically contributes to a reflection on important current socio-political and cultural issues. Divided into six parts, the book is the result of an international conference organized in 2013. By presenting the interdisciplinary works of various scholars working in the Global North and the Global South, this volume manages to showcase the richness of perspectives and interpretations regarding literacy practices. Furthermore, this interdisciplinary approachparticipates in showing the multiple channels through which stories can be written and transmitted. Part One examines the various ways written texts as well as oral performances are used to convey social and environmental messages. The four